PLYMOUTH — Gov. Tom Corbett ceremoniously signed the Brad Fox law Friday morning with the widow and family of Plymouth Police Officer Brad Fox and more than 100 Montgomery County police officers and local politicians inside the Harmonville Fire Co. engine bay.

The law imposes a mandatory five-year sentence for a second offense when a gun bought by a legitimate gun buyer is resold to someone not allowed to own or possess firearms.

Fox was shot and killed Sept. 13, 2012 near the Schuylkill River Trail with a gun purchased by a Philadelphia man, Michael J. Henry, and resold to Andrew Thomas of Lower Merion. Fox had pursued Thomas from a hit-and-run traffic accident and was shot by Thomas with the gun. Thomas was on probation from a 2005 forgery arrest in Upper Merion and was not permitted to possess firearms. Thomas killed himself after shooting Fox, police said.

“Officer Fox died in the line of duty last year at the hands of a felon who should never have had a gun and, less directly, by the hand of the man who later admitted buying the gun and passing it along,” Corbett said.

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“Such ‘straw buyers’ are as deadly a threat to our citizens and our first responders as the felons to whom they pass along the weapon,” Corbett said.

“State and federal laws are very plain. Convicted felons are forbidden from owning firearms. And those who knowingly provide firearms to felons are themselves criminals and worthy of being locked up,” Corbett said.

The ceremonial bill signing took place inside the Harmonville Fire Co. in front of two Plymouth police vehicles and two photo portraits of Fox with his K-9 partner Nick. Fox’s patrol car, with a black bunting covering the lightbar, had the emblem “Nick - Caution! Police K-9” stencilled on the rear door.

Plymouth Police Chief Joseph Lawrence said having the straw purchase bill named after Fox “was a sad honor to have.”

“If it deters one person then it is worth the effort everyone went through,” Lawrence said. “We have a district attorney’s office that follows through to prosecute these charges.”

“The biggest problem with gun control is not people legally allowed to buy guns,” said Plymouth Council Chairman Sheldon Simpson, “but the people who legally buy guns for those who can’t own them.”

“I’m happy this law has been passed,” Weiss said. “Anybody who buys a gun for a felon deserves to go to jail.”

Plymouth Councilwoman Leonore Bruno said, “It’s about time something was done about straw purchases. Hopefully it will prevent some killings.”

During the bill signing, Corbett invited Lynsay Fox, Brad Fox’s widow and Kathy Fox, Brad Fox’s mother, to sit at the table for a photo.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said the original state law on second straw purchases was “invalidated by a court case.”

State Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-Dist. 147, introduced a bill two years ago to reinstate the five-year penalty but it was held up in a legislative committee.

“Shortly after Officer Fox’s killing I picked up the telephone,” Ferman said. “Less than four months later we are here. We know this bill is not something we can use for the person who put the gun in the hand of Brad Fox’s killer. But the moral imperative to do the right thing is there.”

“I introduced the bill two years ago so it is very satisfying to see it come full circle,” Toepel said. “We worked to get this bill done for the right reasons. It was important to get that mandatory five-year sentence back on the books.”

State Sen. John Rafferty, R-44th Dist., said, “We recognized the need to address these people who sacrificed their rights by illegally purchasing a gun. We paid a heck of a price in September. I’m eternally grateful to Brad.”

Corbett had signed the bill on Oct. 25, 2012 after the state Legislature adopted it. The law, supported by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, went into effect on Dec. 26, 2012.

Corbett visited the place where Fox was killed before the bill signing with Ferman and state Rep. Mike Vereb, R-150th Dist. Friday morning.

At a brief press conference after the bill signing, Corbett declined to comment on the National Rifle Association suggestion that armed guards should be posted in every school. That suggestion was made after 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. late last year.

“We will wait and see what they do on federal gun laws. We have to see what they come out with,” Corbett said. “I’m not going to get into a battle with what the NRA is saying about gun laws.”